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The Meditation Experience

The Meditation Experience
Volume I

These nature meditations, a series of inner journeys for peace, insight and healing, will open your heart, expand your senses, and awaken your mind to the wellspring of wisdom within you.
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E-mail churning through the airwaves can bring delightful news, as with a recent message from a new friend of mine in Pittsburgh. He wrote to say that when we hugged, he felt the direct transfer of something from me into his chest. It didn't carry any emotional impact, but a physical shift in his energies transpired and the next day rid him of a misconception that had caused him a great deal of anxiety.

Could I explain what had happened, he asked? Were these two events connected? What isn't, I laughed in delight, replying with the lessons my still, small voice had just been teaching me!

I spoke to David of liking him from the moment we met, as I'd sensed something very special in him. He was coordinating the Sunday service at his Unity church, and as he stood at the podium, speaking so gently of love, my heart opened and I became aware of the high spiritual energies in the room. I was there to speak and my travel fatigue instantly melted away.

During the "meet and greet" portion of the service, I hugged David gratefully. It was not I, but the Love in him that did the work. When we are open and ready for change, love responds and Light flows into and through us, bringing about the transformation we seek.

This is the lesson my inner voice has been teaching me, and it's one that my seven-year-old grandson, Blake, understands perfectly. He delights in creating "pictures" to give away, and alongside many of his colorful airplanes and butterflies are the words, "Love is in the air."

To me, this is what the Hindu mystic Kabir meant in saying, "Sometimes we are a wave, sometimes the ocean. We come here to bring each other to God." I bring to you some gift of wisdom, a loving thought or touch, and you say something that enlivens me, perhaps opens my heart to a new understanding of us both.

In this cosmic sea of spirit, composed of waves of thought and feeling, everything calls us to this love. When we are able to stay calm, peaceful and in awe of life, we restfully merge with the ocean and its transcendent OneMind; when we allow our thoughts and feelings to separate us, we move apart into waves of experience that call us back to Oneness.

I see this flow in everything, especially in springtime, and expect that you do, too. Out of dark, quiet winter come brightly colored plants and flowers blooming to remind us of the joyful life force swirling into the curve of a leaf, a bird's wing, a winding river, a child's cartwheel, the spiral dance of the Milky Way.

Because of this visible and invisible evidence of love, I am able to trust and believe what my still, small voice tells me: that all waves come to empty us of pain so that light can flow into the bodymind, cleansing and clearing it to receive enough Light for our blossoming.

What hinders this flow of love and light? It is always stress, fatigue, fear and distrust, tensing us into waves of rigidity and resistance. The antidote, as Buddhists put it, is to breathe, relax and see that every wave, every single thought and event in life, brings greater unity and love.

But how, you might ask, can we stand immobile in light of all that seems wrong with our world? I am taught by my inner voice to resist nothing, only to work for peace and justice. When I feel the pain of the world, I allow it to flow through me as the magnificent evidence of our deep interconnection with one another. With equanimity I can catch the waves of love upswelling in my heart and ride them with perfect balance into my everyday choices and actions for economic parity, social justice and environmental responsibility.

To create a perfect planet of peace and love, all we have to do is remember that love is in the air. We can bring its Light into being with the thought of it, the need of it, the hope of Love that is it. In this wave is the spiritual awakening of our world.

If love is everywhere, why do we so often feel dark, separate and out of touch with it? And why do some people always seem to be in touch with love's peace, joy and spiritual connection?

It's a simple matter of where we are on the path of mastery, since love is always present and ready to do its work. At any given moment, we can tap into the power of love simply by opening up and asking it to heal us. The response is instantaneous and often occurs before the words or feelings are fully expressed, since love is not subject to the limitations of time and space.

Nor is it subject to the Law of Attraction, which calls like to like. Instead, love's power is always pure and undiluted, and it meets us where we are, giving no more and no less to one person than to another.

The only difference is in our openness and willingness to receive love, which carries with it three eternal gifts: prophecy, prosperity and perfection. These gifts are able to transform humankind into its highest potential and will do so, if only we ask for and receive them.

Here are three stories of love's potent magic, which is available to each and every one of us.

Completely awake and aware, Rev. Jan Mahannah is a singer and teacher who has attained great personal and spiritual mastery. Minister of Baton Rouge's Unity Church of Christianity, she draws on the divine power of love and uses it alchemically for her own physical, mental, emotional and spiritual growth; she also transmits love outwardly to heal the soul of humanity.

Jan was in New York City in September of 2003, during an all-day blackout across the Northeast and Ohio that occurred only two years after the tragedies of 9/11. If people had panicked, the blackout could have been another tragedy. Instead, at least for my friend Jan, this event was a testament to the rectitude of the human spirit.

Rev. Jan recounted her adventures in an e-mail which I kept all this time, knowing that it had a destination. In her own words, she describes love's power of prophecy, which is not just about predicting the future, but about seeing, hearing and sensing truth in every moment. She writes:

"My fiancee and I were in New York during the blackout and it was a great faith-building experience. We had a room in a small, renovated hotel, the Mayfair New York on 49th Street, one block off Broadway. We had flown up Wednesday night and had taken the subway and walked miles and miles Thursday morning. After saying prayers at St. Patrick's and also at Ground Zero, and sitting near Battery Park, Casey asked if I'd like to ride the subway back to our hotel. I told him, 'No, I don't want to get back on the subway for some reason. Let's just walk and if we get too tired we can catch a cab.' So we began walking. We finally got tired and stopped at an Irish pub when the lights went out.

"Candles were lighted and jokes were exchanged as the locals thought it was probably just a brief local power outage (similar to those we frequently have here in Louisiana.). But after a little while, people began pouring into the bar saying they were locked out of their apartments or businesses or offices and others were stuck in the elevators. Sirens began wailing but there were no explosions or clouds of smoke and I certainly didn't feel any fear or any thought of terrorist activity at the time.

"I finally looked at Casey and said, 'If we want to reach our hotel before dark maybe we better start walking.' So we walked over to Broadway and began or l-o-n-g walk. We purchased some water bottles, apples and a couple of sandwiches just in case the power didn't come back on. But the most incredible thing was seeing the people pouring out of buildings onto the street and walking with a quiet, calm deliberation. Every nationality, every language, every type of body and color was represented - all moving calmly, assisting one another if needed - no one pushing or shoving even in the deli's as others stopped for immediate supplies!

"It was as if my meditations for world peace had materialized and I felt a euphoria to be a part of this mass of humanity - peacefully moving. It was awesome!

"We did reach our hotel before dark; our room was only on the fifth floor; our magnetic key opened our door; our large casement windows opened to a cool breeze from the street; the votive candle I had picked up lighted the night; the water continued to work in the toilet and shower; and we went to sleep on clean sheets and a soft bed instead of having to bed down in Bryant Park on the grass. There were sounds of helicopters flying overhead and sirens sounding as firemen went to the rescue the people from the elevators and subway, but all was well. We were actually able to ride AmTrack out of Penn Station to New Jersey late Friday morning as we had planned. We did have trouble getting back Saturday, but that was due to storms over Atlanta.

"As I told the congregation, we didn't get to see the Broadway show we had tickets for, but instead we were with a cast of many thousands for several hours on Broadway."

It's magical enough to live happily in the flow of love and light, as Rev. Jan does, but what makes this experience fascinating is the way light develops our prophetic gifts. Jan's story illustrates this perfectly: after twice praying for others, she knew not to take the subway. She remained in higher consciousness all day by fearing nothing, seeing only the good in people and counting her blessings.

Even in the midst of a blackout, she stayed in the light of clear-seeing, clear-hearing and clear-knowing, the gifts of the spirit.

And so it went for Abraham Lincoln, born in 1809 on a bed of poles covered with corn husks. When Abe was two years old, his parents moved to Knob Creek, Kentucky, where his father worked as a poor, illiterate farmer and distillery hand. The little boy knew inwardly the value of education, so he borrowed books from neighbors and read the Bible, among other books. Later on he would liberally quote Bible stories, but eschewed the fighting within and among religions and never joined one.

Lincoln was a very spiritual man, however. He was a kind of "frontier spiritualist" who believed that signs, dreams and portents foretold the future, and it's entirely possible that his faith in God sprang out of two near-death experiences in his youth. In 1816, at age seven, he drowned and suddenly came back to life. Three years later, he was kicked in the head by a horse, went into a coma and was given up for dead. Upon waking from these events, he said that he'd been "killed."

Whatever the reason for his faith, it was steadfast and lifelong. He seemed to know that he was destined for great things and indeed was uplifted onto the pages of history by many unusual events, one of which stands out from all others. While sitting on the porch of his little store in New Salem, Illinois, Abe remarked to his partner that he would sell everything to buy one book, Blackstone's Commentary on English Law, so that he could study to become a lawyer.

Not long after that, a couple who had lost their farm drove by in a cart loaded with their worldly goods. They were destitute and the man said, "I'm trying to move my family west, and I'm out of money. I've got a good barrel here and I could sell it for 50 cents." Lincoln didn't need a barrel, but upon seeing the woman's emaciated face, dug into his pocket for his last 50 cents and said he supposed he could always find some use for a good barrel.

While hauling the barrel out of the wagon and into the store, Lincoln noticed a sheaf of papers in the bottom of the barrel. Beneath them was a hefty copy of Blackstone's Commentary on English Law.

Abraham Lincoln did study law, served as a U.S. representative for two years and in 1860 was elected the 16th president of the United States. He is considered one of America's greatest and most loved leaders.

What were the chances that Abe's last 50 centsas he’d vowed, the sum of his worldly possessions would bring the law book needed to make his dreams come true?

It was inevitable, according to the laws of love, which promise us all that we need. This includes material abundance and the soul-destiny we are meant to reach.

Abraham Lincoln did everything required to animate his prosperity, the second gift of love. He asked, opened, surrendered and received. Love brings us exactly what we most need and desire, as long as it's a stepping stone to greater love and our own highest good.

I could tell you a hundred stories of great teachers, healers and leaders, but none more dear to me than that of my daughters walking out of darkness into light. Love guided us home.

It's said that souls choose their families and often come here in groups to work off karmic debt. I suspect that this is the case with my daughters. If so, all of us are paid up!

I was the best mother that I could be, but was like a duck out of water and probably would have done a better job with ducklings. Beyond my intense love and my abilities in the fields of writing, art, music and dance, I gave my two daughters virtually nothing that they needed and a lot they didn't.

A busy, Type A personality struggling to support us as a free-lance writer and peace group director, I married repeatedly in an effort to create a stable home life, but only destabilized us with escape-hatch divorces and broken relationships. By age 37, I did not trust my own heart and was desperately seeking self-understanding and, as always, the meaning and purpose of life.

My independent, strong-willed daughters decided at early ages to do as they pleased and there was no stopping them. Our lives turned into a dark, hellish nightmare as they both quit school in eighth grade, got into trouble with the law, went to jail and brought social workers into our living room and lives for 18 years. Drugs, violence and every other social ill was our norm during that time.

Terrified that my children would end up dead, I was in enough pain to kill myself, but could not hurt them that way too. During an interview with a priest working as a lighting director, a symbol that did not escape me, I asked how to pray, and he told me, "Just say what's on your heart." I didn't believe in God, but uttered the word "Help" silently and almost without realizing it.

Help came late one night shortly after, when I distinctly heard an inner voice say, "Pick up pen and paper, listen and write down what you hear." For some inexplicable reason, I did so and heard the wisest, kindest voice I'd ever known. Night after night, its transcendent wisdom and goodness gave me comfort and guiding universal laws while expanding my mind and body to receive more light. This light healed me and serendipitously brought helpful events that were so unlikely, as with Abe Lincoln's law book, that I realized I was being helped by some loving force that is real and available to us all.

My two daughters watched me grow calmer, wiser and healthier in body, mind and spirit. Even while rejecting the possibility of the divine, which still angered them just as it had me, they observed and applauded the changes in me because I became more present to them and to my own life.

Over the next 12 years most of my dreams came true. The guidance in my writings and life, along with the practice of meditation, awakened my mind to creative ideas that upsurged as never before. My writing work gained beauty and clarity and was published by national newspapers and international magazines. I was commissioned to write a book that won a national award. I belonged to an Edgar Cayce study group and was learning the values and self-mastery that I'd missed as a child. Brought by a story assignment to a Unity church, I found like-spirited people and came to appreciate the value of community.

I was happy, except for one thing. My daughters were living the same hellish existence that I had, but worse: they were walking at the edge and death was reaching for them. Until events conspired to teach me some powerful lessons on how to detach with love, I was still caught up in fear for my beautiful daughters.

Dreams, my inner voice, daily meditation, a therapist and a painful series of life lessons paved the way for my letting go so that love could work its magic in my daughter's lives. I knew that I was supposed to move out of state, as patterned events had made this clear, but who would keep my children from self-destructing?

I played out my role on pure faith. They did swan-dive off their respective cliffs, but Grace caught them in its gentle arms and the healing began.

My oldest daughter, by then 28, got arrested twice for possession of narcotics, decided to get well and went to her fifth rehabilitation center. But now, while reading my spiritual memoir, The Voice of the Soul, published precisely at that time, she decided to pretend to believe in God. This saved her life; for the first time she was able to endure the notion of a Higher Power and in counseling and AA meetings sat listening to the powerful guidance brought to her by that higher power.

I'd known it was important to publish my book and fast but never dreamed that it would free my family. My second daughter, by then 20, hit bottom and followed in her sister's footsteps, entering the same rehab clinic with equally positive results. It wasn't an easy journey for either of them, as so much work was required, and we are all still walking our paths of healing and transformation. But we’ve had lots of help from spiritual realms and are grateful to be counted among the tenacious people who survive, thrive and break the generational cycle of addiction and loss.

Today I am happy, healthy and free, and so are my beloved children. The eldest attends college, is a terrific writer and will be a superb teacher. She will do wonderful things in the years ahead, as will my second daughter: an artist, poet, singer and composer. Both my happily married daughters, now 33 and 25, are deeply loving, compassionate women who are devoted to peace and justice in the world.

They have come so far and will go farther because they know how to ask for higher help, are open-hearted enough to receive it, and smart enough to see the patterned flow of love and grace in their lives.

We have begun to understand that the source of all healing is love and the intention to heal. We ask for light to shine upon any hurt, anger or unforgiveness and it disappears. We become "lighter" as obstacles to perfection are removed. Our perfection comes into being, released by our willingness to let Love do its work.

May these three gifts of loveprophecy, prosperity and perfectionbring everything you need to blossom in the eternal springtime of your life.

In working on this newsletter, I drilled my still, small voice about what it’s been teaching me for the past 16 years: that all illness comes from mental-emotional constructs which either sicken the cells of our bodies or attract injury to us.

I wasn't able to believe this until recently, when homeopathy and network chiropractic conjured up wraith-like thoughts and feelings imprisoned in the depths of my being and their release healed me profoundly. I was suddenly inundated with dream memories and waking thoughts which soul writings helped me see were still patterning my life. So I asked my inner voice why we must struggle so hard with what is wrong with us, when life is supposed to be a gift. We’re here by choice, came the pithy reply. I could return to congested pain in my body or learn from what is being released as it is released.

In response to my desire for an illustrative story, my soul voice so rapidly dictated this parable that I knew my stuttering little ego wasn’t concocting it. While the content might not be entirely new to you, it is stated with a lyrical economy that you might appreciate as much as I do.

"See it this way: A man walks along a dusty road, neither seeking a destination nor looking at the scenery. He does not know why he is there, but follows because so many have set forth before him. Others follow in the same way, seeing and knowing nothing until one traveler, weary of the empty sameness, awakens to the beauty around the path or sees that the path is a symbol of the journey through life: that it is a work to be done, a song to be sung, a meeting of souls waiting to dance, a waystation for healing, and the place to see self through others and one’s own direct experience.

The path itself is the destination, yet so many are oblivious to its true purpose: to know self’s connection with the Pathmaker and the many paths walked before.

Each soul on the path carries a song, some off-key, some clear and beautiful, yet each song was once perfect and seeks perfect expression again. It is in singing to one another and singing for self that this will be accomplished, for a song unsung cannot become more than it is. Only in the hearing and knowing of its lyrics and sound can the singer heal and renew the song.

Will any singer be rejected by the Pathmaker for a song that is incomplete? Can any singer hold self superior, when each song was perfect to begin with and will be again? What will each song express to the singer but the secrets of self needing to be learned in order to perfect the song?

What gives pain to any singer on the path is its inability to express its song, for this is why it has come here. If the song is held inside, the singer feels unfulfilled and lost, and seeks to know what is wrong and what is right. The yearning grows until what is missing is found and what needs to be said and sung finds expression.

What makes the heart sing? Find this and find the key of life, for the singing heart has found love, the conductor of healing, and the perfection of All That Is.

See that the path is the destination and open thine eyes to the beauty of it. What comes perfects each song of life, for the keynote of each soul calls forth each person and each event to do what is needed by one and all. No person, no event is without meaning, for each is a note of a great song being sung by the cosmos and calling each singer to its place within the perfect song of the Divine Harmonic.

We cannot describe this unutterably beautiful song, except in the hush of a cathedral, the breath of an infant child, the light swirling into and from the soul entering and leaving the Earth, the planets turning in space to make the music of the spheres, each universe and galaxy singing together of beauty, peace, harmony and love.

You can hear it in the grasshopper’s legs rubbing together, the syrup trickling from a maple tree, the sound of water tumbling over rocks to cleanse and purify them. Each motion creates sound, and each sound is the song of Creation.

Be lifted by these sounds into thine own song of life and make it joyful. Go into nature and find the path of life, for it is best seen here, in the creatures and flowers here for this reason: to be who they are. Be who thou art, also, and be free.

Have you ever felt anger or a sense of loss for having spent years taking care of others instead of honoring your core selfyour true essenceby becoming all that you could be? Do you regret spending money unwisely in the past? Feel sad about relationships which seemed to hold the promise of gold but never panned out?

Everyone has unfinished business, and we know from mind-body studies and quantum physics that the old anger, grief, resentment and fear, energetically entangled in our cells, holographically project our thoughts, emotions, attitudes, beliefs and behaviorseffectively keeping our pasts alive and defining the present and future.

The good news is that each of us will have many opportunities to repair the past, because errors in judgment or deed must be resolved or repeated until the song is well sung, the job correctly done.

It’s easy to resolve known patterns. If you feel robbed of time in days gone by, for example, you can give yourself the gift of time now. A few hours a week spent doing what makes you happy will improve the quality of your life and put an end to stressful inner complaints like, "There’s never enough time for me to do what I want to do!"

Inner messages are a cry for attention, so once you’ve heard the message it will stop and so will the stress produced by it. The Mad Hatter in you (from Alice in Wonderland), who always says, "I can’t stop. I don’t have time. I’m in a hurry" will sit down, relax and make friends with the grinning Cheshire cat.

The words "I can’t" will drop out of your vocabulary and you will accomplish whatever you yearn to do. Go ahead: walk your yellow brick road to happiness! (That’s another story.)

It’s easy to resolve any known pattern. If you feel guilt or shame over unwisely spent money or resources, just watch the flow of energy through your life, use it wisely and consciously change your attitude about yourself.

The same goes for relationships: cherish the people you love, be kind and know that you are now doingand have always donethe best that you can. The idea is to listen to the repetitive thoughts flowing through your mind and address each discordant message or feeling with antidotal actions. This mindfulness will transform destructive thought patterns into positive appreciation of yourself and your life.

Healing with light and sound

It’s equally important to attend to grief or sorrow that is hurting your heart. If you know its source, you can:

1) Allow love to resolve the pain. Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted and bring the memory to mind. Breathe in and circulate love and light through your heart, mind, body and soul. See and feel this love and light, allowing it to cleanse and release the pain and its entrenchment. Take your time. Breathe light until you feel a sense of completion.

2) At any time of night or day, whether at work or in meditation, simply ask in the depths of your being for healing, stating what wants to be healed, and trust that it will be done.

3) In some quiet situation, understanding that this is a sacred act, envision your soul taking your heart in hand and saying to it: "I relieve and release your hurt, that you may be set free."

In these ceremonies we ask the soul-self to apply the energies of love to the wound and return it to its rightful place as part of the harmonic whole. If there is no inner resistance to healing, your pain and its pattern will resolve.

Break on through to the other side

If you feel resistance and sense that the problem is not healed, then you might want to conduct an inner dialogue. Just pick up pen and paper, retire to a quiet space and ask yourself, "What within me needs healing?" Wait patiently for your heart, mind or soul to speak to you in words, a symbolic image, a feeling or a sense of knowing.

If you get no answer or one that is not immediately helpful, ask your ego if it is resisting this process. If so, it will explain why. Ask what is the positive purpose of its resistance, and if it evades the question or gives you an answer that is not a positive purpose (like "Because I don’t think you know what you’re doing"), explain that you are asking for its cooperation right now. You want to know why it is blocking you, when you want to help all parts of your self work together for your highest good.

Eventually, when your ego sees the sense in this, it will release its resistance and tell you why it is holding on to old thought patterns and/or negative feelings. You can simply assure it that this protection is no longer needed, now that you understand its positive purpose, and you can put in place a new behavior pattern so that your ego can let down its guard.

The ego really does have a positive purpose, and that is to defend and protect you. It’s perfectly happy to take a vacation if some other part does the job while it’s away and it’s especially deferential to the heart. If your heart has something to say in this process, listen respectfully and address whatever concerns come up. The lower heart works with your mind, and the higher heart works with your soul.

Manifesting the life you want

Once you have healed and/or transformed an old pattern, it’s time to replace it with new thinking and behaviors. Decide what these will be before using the seven manifestation principles below.

If you considered yourself a poor financier, you could use these seven principles to further heal that self-concept by manifesting money. If you have used light to heal anger or grief over a past relationship, you can use these principles to attract the partner you want. But first, do some inner work to decide whether you are ready for a partner or friend. Then define exactly what you want so that you attract your dream and not your worst nightmare. Be careful, because this works!

Use the same techniques of self-inquiry to determine your needs and desires. Simply pick up pen and paper, and ask your inner teacher, your soul-self, to give you insight into what is good and right for you. This way you will start out on the right track and geometrically multiply your chances of getting what you ask for.

By using this "soul-searching" technique, you will be doing exactly what you've come here to do: know yourself as soul so that your soul can guide you into all that you can be.

With these seven principles of manifestation you are wielding your power of intention to bring a higher, more positive frequency of vibration into your being. You will animate more than self-healing, prosperity and your psychic gifts by tapping into the infinitely powerful light of Love. In surrender to the Light, you will become the captain of your ship, the master of your soul.

Once you have healed what you’re aware of (steps 1-3) and you and your soul define your next best steps, it’s time to walk in the Light of your new life.

4) OPEN AND SURRENDER. In the depths of your being, declare that you are open and receptive to all good that comes your way, which statement clears a path to "this or something better." If you are going to ask for a terrific job, you might not get promoted at your present work; instead, you might lose that job and get one that better suits your abilities and destiny. So it’s important not to focus on a prescriptive outcome, but to open all doors to your highest good.

5) FOCUS ON YOUR INNER BEING. Bring into your mind exactly what you want and need in your life. If you seek within and find a need for comfort, pray for comfort and it will appear in dreams, solace from others and synchronicity leading to the right person, book or study group. If it is money or a life partner that you want, then prepare for the change that is coming. Since you are shifting physical reality, expect and accept the inevitability of change. See and sense it so that you don’t panic in the middle of the stream and resist your coming good.

6) SEE THE DIRECTION OF FLOW. Double-check to make sure that you are working in accord with every aspect of your being. Where attention goes, energy flows, so make sure your energetic stream is flowing in the direction that’s right for you. See the big picture.

7) BELIEVE WHAT YOU CONCEIVE. Once your desired outcome is firmly in mind, write it down feelingly so that it animates the power of your heart. Be sure that your affirmation is credible. If you write, "I’m in receipt of $5 million right now," your logic will reject this as improbable. If it’s money that you want, decide what you need in order to accomplish your goals and declare that this sum is making its way to you. You have to be able to believe what you conceive.

8) CRAFT YOUR WISH. Create symbolic representations of your heart’s desire to energize it. You can draw your own images or cut out colorful, vibrant pictures from magazines. Place these images and your written affirmations where you will see them often, such as a bathroom mirror, refrigerator or computer screen, or all three! You could also create a poster of any size and dress it up with glitter, slogans or anything else that appeals to you. The more energy you put into your images and words, the quicker your results. Desire propels intention, so let your feelings and thoughts empower what you want to manifest, knowing that what you seek is on its way to you.

Some of these manifestation principles are taught in a 12-week course that I’ve taken repeatedly, called "The 4-T Principles of Prosperity," by the late, great Unity teacher Stretton Smith. Story is a wonderful source of encouragement in this program, so I’ll share one of my stories with you.

Several years ago, I pasted a big picture of a cruise ship on a poster-board and taped it onto the inside door of my meditation room. Upon moving house, I hung it up on the door of my new meditation room, but paid no attention to it and only a few months ago restated my wish to teach on a paid-for cruise. After seeing the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know?!" I went into meditation and wrote three powerful affirmations voiced consistently over the past few months.

One of these affirmations was: "My heart is filled with love which pours out of me to the world and returns in financial rewards and exciting opportunities to heal and be healed." Not only was I soon invited, out of the blue, to lead an Oct. 4-12 Flow of Intuition cruise to the Caribbeanjoin us!as you can see from this newsletter, I suddenly find myself exorcising "ghosts" from my past while, by no coincidence, beginning to heal others through brain wave biofeedback training.

In my affirmation, I asked for exactly what my soul-self wanted and needed, but preferred to be open enough to receive unforeseen possibilities. These arrived quickly as I reinvested energy in them.

9) AMP UP THE VOLTAGE. If you have an open-minded friend, ask him or her to get together with you by phone or in person to support your goals. It’s best for your friend to paraphrase your affirmation with his/her own feelings, as in "I see hundred dollar bills drifting down all around you, and you joyously gathering them up to pay for your shiny new red Toyota." (Be specific, if you need to be.) Or, "I see and feel and know that the perfect partner is awakening to the beauty in you and sensing how to find you right now!" (Be non-specific, if you are able to surrender to divine right order.)

You will be amazed at the difference it makes to hear someone else share your dream(s)! Energy moves quickly when two or more are gathered together to manifest good. Gather all the supporters you can.

If you and your manifestation partners are open to the idea of prayer, it certainly helps to call on not just your power of mind, but also the power of Spirit. In this case, you could phrase your affirmation in affirmative prayer: "God rejoices in giving you a shiny new red car so you can travel to that perfect job and your life will be blessed and enriched. You deserve everything good in life, and the power of Spirit within you grows stronger moment by moment to attract the infinite power of Good."

See how the energy amps up when we draw on the inter-dimensional energies of Spirit? If the word God evokes in you images of an angry, vengeful judge with a white beard, your partner can say, "God in you" or "The source of good within you" does this or that. It’s all the same. The God-energy doesn’t care about names.

10) BE JOYFUL, FAITHFUL AND PATIENT. Once you have amped-up your affirmation, be assured that change is on its way. Watch for patterns and events foreshadowing this coming change and be patient as new beginnings take shape. You might get exactly what you asked to manifest, or what comes might be a prelude to the real thing.

No matter what, expect that your heart, mind and soul are co-creating with the power of Love and that this work is already underway. Be grateful, happy and even joyful that this power exists within and all around you, waiting for your love and faith to animate it. You will never be given a stumbling block, only a stepping stone, and each will take you exactly where your soul-self needs and wants to go.

If you find that these energies stir up old thoughts and emotions, just open to release and let Love carry them away. Remember, you don’t have to get wrapped up in past events; you can simply observe them and love yourself for the excellent healing work that you are doing.

Happy new beginnings! By courageously moving into your past, you are emerging on the other side of it into an exciting new life. E-mail us to share your story of transformation. You will give hope to us all!

"Love enriches the nature, enlarging, purifying and elevating it.
The wintry blasts of earth may uproot the flowers of affection
and scatter them to the winds; but this severance of fleshly ties
serves to unite thought more closely to God,
for love supports the struggling heart
until it ceases to sigh over the world
and begins to unfold its wings for heaven."

Mary Baker Eddy

"The greater danger for most of us
is not that our aim is too high and we miss it,
but that it is too low and we reach it."

Michaelangelo Buonarroti

The Still, Small Voice

The
mission of this newsletter is to bring you the inner peace
needed to access the voice of your soul. With this guidance
we are lifted into our highest and best, and the Earth becomes
a more humane and enlightened place.

Judith
Pennington, editor

Letters
to the Editor

"Excellent, pertinent and captivating writing. Thanks!"

Keith Varnum
Phoenix, Arizona

"I read your newsletter and loved, loved, loved it.
The article on blame was great! I also loved your Conversations
with Cass. I’ve asked the same
questions (about religion) myself and your answers were
so right on target."

D.L., New Jersey

"I receive many e-mails about the war with Iraq. Your
articles are the first to come to the understanding that
war looms about us because we require its
presence to learn about peace. Thanks for your words."